Revenge is bad for the mind
by Sanji-Senpai
Summary: Sanji was just an ordinary man who enjoyed murder mysteries, so when a mysterious serial killer shows up in New World City, Sanji was already on the case. But what happens if he meets this killer? And what happens when the killer is one of his best friends? (OOC) (Modern AU) (blood and explicit language) (ZoSan)
1. Killer

It was dark. Dark and cold. But despite the chilling atmosphere, there were still people running amuck on the streets. The New world city is a very busy city, especially at night, for the night time was a time for crimes to occur. Small gas stations were robbed of their goods and illegal drugs were passed around on high demand while underground criminal organizations fought against each other, sending assassins back and forth to take out each other.

With all this criminal activity, its not too shocking that becoming a law enforcer was a very popular job. Kids would always speak to one and another about how one day they were gonna stop all the bad guys and throw them in jail! Though the younglings will never understand the dangers of becoming an officer till they became one themselves. Many policemen were killed everyday by wanted men, but nothing of these bloodsheds could compare to the raging war between the Marines and the Revolutionaries.

The marines are suppose to be a type of police force but in actuality they were like their own organization. They claimed to be the justice of the city and swear that they will defeat all evil till they die. The citizens of New World were scared of these marines. They had brutal punishments and dirty tricks. What kept them in power though was the fact that crime rate has been drastically decreasing since the appeared. Meaning that the civilians were somewhat happy that they were more safe and protected under them, even if they were a bit cruel. Some people detested the brutality of the marines though, thus starting The Revolutionaries. One of the biggest organizations around that hold some of the most dangerous men alive.

No one really knows about the Revolutionaries except that they are lead by a man named Dragon. They don't even know if that is his real name or not. The marines are afraid that one day The Revolutionaries would take control of the city. This led to the marines executing people if they were ever accused of being a Revolutionary. Many citizens kept low profiles and started to distrust each other because of this.

The revolutionaries weren't the only problem the marines faced. Apparently a serial killer was on the loose. No one knows much about the serial killer, only that he wrote some pretty gruesome messages in his victim's blood like "The king is corrupted," and "Fix us." No one really knew what this meant, nor wanted to.

The bodies of the victims were usually found in alleys or abandoned buildings. Most of the corpses found were of marine members or even sometimes wanted criminals. Out of the little info the had on the killings, they knew one thing. The source of death was from some type of blade.

* * *

Blackleg Sanji was a very kind hearted type of man despite having a very short temper. He was always getting into fights because of it. Being the polite man he was, he did apologize for breaking some of the kid's bones but that didn't reverse his suspension from middle school, expulsion at his high school, and yet another long suspension at a different high school. It was when he was in 11th grade that he realized that school was a waste of time for him. He dropped out of it by 12th grade and started to teach himself advanced cooking and culinary art.

He already was deemed as an amazing chef by his friends since he started to observe his own father cook. It all started around the age of 10, when Sanji began a goal to surpass his father's culinary skills. By the age of 15, Sanji could already create very advanced recipes and make his own only using very little ingredients. Even though Sanji was a practically a prodigy in cooking, he knew that compared to his dad, he was a lousy rat with no tastebuds. It won't be anytime soon till he surpassed the old man.

Sanji was now 21. He owned a very small apartment building on Grand Line Street and was a bartender at a very nice bar a couple of blocks from where he lived. It was nice being a bartender after he was fired from his old job. The blonde used to work as a part time chef and waiter at a fine restaurant for a fairly good budget of money. Just enough to hold up his rent. He was quickly fired though for messing around with the ladies and not focusing on his job. Of course, Sanji was very pissed that he was fired for such a foolish reason, but he let it slide and now he was here, working as a bartender. Once he gained enough money, he was going to quit being a bartender and open his very own restaurant just like his dad.

* * *

A very loud yawn came out of the blonde's mouth as he searched his closet for some comfortable clothes. Today was Monday so he had no work to worry about. Besides, he needed to wash his bartender suit before he wears it again. Sanji quickly decided on some jeans and a short sleeve dress shirt. He buckled up his pants with a black belt and wrapped a tie around his neck under the collar of his shirt. Feeling satisfied on how he looked, the cook went off into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Before Sanji could turn on the stove to make an omelet, he heard a knock on his door. Looking at the digital clock on his stove he found out it was about seven o' clock in the morning. Why would anyone visit him so early in the morning? Feeling a little grumpy, Sanji wiped off his hands with a towel and started off towards the front door. Twisting that golden colored door knob was the first mistake he made that day.

"Sanji! Hi! Whatcha' cookin' for breakfast?" Before Sanji could slam the door, his visitor quickly rushed in and raced towards the kitchen.

"Dammit Luffy!" Sanji shouted after his rude guess.

"What the hell are you here for?!" The blonde already knew though.

Not taking his eyes off of the food for one second the teen replied,

"I came here for food. Duh! So what do we got here…. OH OMELETS! make sure to put extra meat in mine!"

Monkey D. Luffy has been Sanji's friend for a while now. He met the boy in school actually, when he was in 11th grade and Luffy was in 9th. Luffy constantly got in trouble like the blonde, so they had many detentions with each other. As soon as the teacher would leave the detention room, Luffy would always talk to Sanji, and just over time the two became friends.

Sometimes Sanji wished that he never got into trouble in school, so then he would have never met the hyper 19 year old. This, was one of those times.

"Luffy, get out of my fridge… or better yet… GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT!" Sanji's blood pressure was rising, but Luffy did not care, he was hungry, and he wanted food, so why not go to a chef's house for food?

Today Luffy was in a plain red shirt and baggy black shorts. He wore a pair of sandals and had his special straw-hat resting on his back.

"Haha, come on now, I got your mail for you!" The Raven quickly shoved food into his mouth and closed the fridge. He then walked over to the red-faced chef with a newspaper in hand. Sanji quickly yanked the newspaper out of Luffy's hands and stared at the front page.

 **MYSTERIOUS KILLER STRIKES AGAIN!**

 _Another victim has been claimed by the infamous serial killer of New World City last night._

 _The body was found in yet another alleyway on black street. The corpse has been_ _identified as a man named Nikola Kenshiki._ Nikola _Kenshiki was a ranking officer in the Marines organization. The marine was found dead with multiple gash marks, a broken skull and a two stab wounds around the heart._

Sanji stopped reading the article as he heard a crash coming from the kitchen. He silently cussed under his breath and ran towards the sound, only to find that Luffy had broke a glass mixing bowl and was trying to stuff his face with food. Noticing the deadly glint in Sanji's eyes, the raven head started to feel a bit frightened.

Luffy gulped down all the food shoved in his mouth at once when he saw his friend raise his leg up.  
"Shit," Muttered Luffy. Sanji landed a hard roundhouse kick on Luffy. The force was so great that it sent Luffy crashing into the wall, creating a hole in it.

"Not only are you gonna pay for all the food you raided from my fridge, but also the expenses of that large hole in my wall. I suggest you ask for a raise next time you see your boss." Sanji reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He flipped the cover open and then pulled a cancer stick out and placed it in between his lips. Then with his other hand, he grabbed a lighter and lit it.

"Eww, stop smoking Sanji, it smells terrible," whimpered Luffy as he patted dry wall dust out of his hair. Sanji ignored the request and exhaled the nicotine from his mouth.

"Not until you stop eating all of my food,"

"Thats not fair!"

"Life isn't fair you thick headed brute."

* * *

Luckily for Sanji, Luffy left a few minutes after the whole scene. To be honest, Sanji was surprised the neighbors weren't complaining from all the racket the two were making inside the small apartment. The blonde took a deep breath, sat down in a large comfy rocking chair inside his living room, then exhaled. After a while of resting, Sanji remembered about the newspaper in his hand. He picked up from where he left off in the article.

 _As one of the many officers investigating the killings of the mysterious mass murderer, Nikola helped in figuring out the reason behind the killers motives and came up with multiple theories. One_ _hypothesis by the marine captain was that the killings were_ _actually orders from the Revolutionaries, trying to cause panic within the marines organization._

 _"My captain was a very good man. He really wanted to save the innocent from cold hearted beasts like that bastard serial killer. He was a very brave man, he will certainly be missed." said Juuko Alabra, a co-worker of Nikola._

Sanji read on but got bored of the article quickly, since it mostly talks about this Nikola guy and how he was going to be missed and all that touchy shit. All the blonde really wanted to know was the whereabouts of the killer.

Sanji may not look like it or act like it, but he was a sucker for murder mysteries. Oh, all Sanji ever read was murder mystery stories. (Along with some cooking books as well.) He read many different stories from the butler betraying the rich family stories to the ones of insane killers going on mass genocide. All in all, Sanji just loved mysteries, period.

It was quite disappointing to the blond that there were no new updates on the killer, only a few theories on his motives and what he is after. Sanji knew that most of the theories the marines made were complete utter bullshit, but the one exclaimed in that article seemed a bit legit. It did make sense, but there were still a few gaps that needed to be filled. Just why would the revolutionary write such strange messages in blood and why would they kill other criminals in the process. It could be because the criminals got in their way, but Sanji knew some of those criminals wouldn't want to get in the way of the biggest criminal organization around.

Sanji rested his head backwards so that he was staring up towards the white ceiling of his apartment. He really needed some evidence before he could start making theories of his own. He didn't want to risk getting untrue facts from a secondary source, so it needed to be from some type of primary source. He couldn't trust asking the the Marines since they kept way too many secrets from the public. Maybe he could ask local civilians around Ennies Road instead? No, they probably only knew as much as he did. Besides, who would want to share info about a crazy killer to a complete stranger.

The blonde man sighed in defeat. If he kept thinking like this he will be brain dead by tomorrow morning. He needed to get up and clear his head. Maybe a walk in the park will do. On second thought, the park _did_ provide a good scenery of some pretty cute ladies. Sanji felt his face blush just thinking about all the pretty woman he will see out there. Ones with gorgeous smiles and humongous boobs. Oh why did woman have to be so perfect and sexy!

Sanji couldn't resist his perverted brain. He quickly got off his chair and rushed outside towards the park.

* * *

The sun was setting when Sanji finally left the park. He was laughing to himself while recalling all of the memories he had from that short period of his life. He got to flirt with some very gorgeous woman who, like always, ran away from him. They also called him a pervert and threw random stuff at him. One woman even ripped off her sandal to use as a projectile. Sanji, being the gentleman he was, caught the sandal and chased after the woman shouting, _"MA'AM! Your forgot your sandal!."_

"I'm beat," yawned the blonde as he started to make his way back to his apartment. He started day dreaming as he walked, not noticing where he was going. As Sanji kept walking, he felt like something was off. Before he rounded another block, he checked what street he was on. Red drive… Oh shit. Sanji looked around him, not recognizing any of the buildings or street signs. He was lost. Lost in an unknown environment where danger could be lurking at every corner.

"Shit," muttered the blonde. Sanji didn't want to deal with this, he just wanted to get back to his apartment! The cook started to move. It was a horrible idea to stand still in areas you do not know. You could get mugged without realizing it. Or something way worse could happen, like running into a gang of punks.

* * *

It was dark out and when the blond was surrounded by a _freaking gang of punks_.

"Yo, Jimmy, look at this fancy ass over here!" Shouted one of the gang members.

"HAHA, the way he is dressed, think he has some dollars on him?" Spoke another. One of the tougher looking thugs started walking up to Sanji. He seemed to be the leader of the punks. He was holding a crowbar with his right hand. Great, not only was Sanji gonna get mugged, but probably beaten too. Despite knowing this, Sanji acted calm and collected.

"Hey blondie, theres a toll for passing through our territory, pay up." The man had a very gravely voice, indicating he was a smoker like Sanji.

"How much do I need to pay?" Muttered a very irritated blondie.

"How about all the cash you got on yo' wallet, then we'd let ya go home free with no harm." The man gave Sanji a smirk. The blonde couldn't help but noticed some missing molars and some very yellow teeth. Not to mention some bad breath. Man, This guy reeked of stupidity!

Sanji pulled out a five dollar bill from his back pockets and handed it to the man. The smelly punk's grin turned into a very deep frown. He swatted the bill out of Sanji's hand then picked up the blonde by his collar.

"You think I'm stupid?! I know you got more than that punk," Shouted the man. Spit came flying out of his mouth and onto Sanji's face, but he did not flinch.

"I'm sorry sir, but that is all I have, I spent all my cash on some very beautiful ladies y…" Sanji was interrupted.

"LADIES huh?! You a playboy or some shit. Wait, let me answer that for you, no! Who the hell would want to date a guy like you!" The other gang members started to laugh at the horrible joke.

Sanji instantly whispered "cross dressers," just low enough for no one to hear him. (Wink Wink)

"Eh who the hell cares anyways! Your gonna be dead in a minute anyways." The man suddenly released Sanji's collar, dropping him onto the cold cement below. He then saw the gang leader take a few steps back.

"Kill him."

Sanji got up just in time to avoid the first attack. One of the shorter members of the gang had swung a baseball bat aiming at his head. The cook narrowly dodged in time by taking a step back. When the short man left an opening, Sanji threw his right leg at him, landing a blow in the man's stomach. The blond smirked. So this gang was all bark and no bite huh? Thats good, he could go on the offensive.

Sanji jumped back avoiding yet another attack from a metal baseball bat. He then kicked the punk in the face, then another in the shins. As Sanji was about to dodge another hooligan's attack, something hit him hard in the head. The blonde lost his balance and fell to the ground. He saw a a sharp, large rock fall next to him, blood on the side of it.

He started to feel blood trickle down his face and a serious pounding headache beginning. Sanji looked up to see a member in his face with a fist raised high. He punched the cook across the face. Before long, the cook was getting punched over and over again with not only fists but crowbars and baseball bats as well. Bruises and cuts started to form all over Sanji's body.

"Stop!" The gang leader's voice rang through Sanji's ears. He could hear footsteps coming towards him. The sound stopped when the gang leader was about a foot away from him. Then he heard a click. The blonde looked up with wide eyes as he saw a handgun being pointed at his head.

"You sure did entertain me with that little fight, but I think its over."The man gave one last ugly smile and said, "good bye!"

Right before the trigger was pulled though, something pierced the thug's heart. Drops of blood fell onto Sanji's face as a katana was pulled out of the man. Sanji shakily looked up and saw one of the most sadistic smile's he has ever seen. The figure chuckled as the gang leader's dead body fell right next to Sanji's broken one. The cook felt his heart racing faster and faster. His breathes were becoming shaky W-Was this fear he was feeling?

* * *

The dark figure started to laugh out loud the longer he stared at the corpse. He then turned around to face the other gang members. They were staring at their leader's dead body with such intense fear, that Sanji could see their bodies shaking tremendously. One of the thugs then felt rage boil up inside him. He charged at the cloaked figure shouting "YOU BASTARD!" His bravery was short lived when the figure decapitated him. His headless body fell limp and his head rolled behind the killer's feet.

All hell broke loose then, the remaining members screamed and tried to flee, but their attempt of escape was in vain. The figure started to brutally slash his victims, laughing madly as blood sloshed around on the asphalt of the alley. Sanji was horrified, just purely petrified. He was shivering at the sight of the blood being splattered around like an artist spilling red paint all over the place. Sanji kept on thinking that this was it, he was gonna die.

Finally, one last blood curling scream was heard. The figure had slashed his chest open. Still snickering, the mysterious killer turned back towards Sanji and started walking towards him. His katana was pulled out, grazing the stone with an eerie screech. Sanji stared into the man's eyes with fear. The man stopped right in front of his cold body. The blonde braced for death, closing his eyes tightly, prepared to be killed with the bloody blade in the man's hand. But instead, the killer knelt down in front of the cook.

"How cute, your blue eyes are shivering with fear~." The man reached out and grabbed Sanji by the face, forcing Sanji to look at him. There, the blond got a better view of him. The figure wore a dark green sweat shirt with a hoodie. The hoodie was up so it covered most of his face, only revealing his sinister smile. He wore a black shirt underneath with black ripped jeans. He was wearing gloves on both of his hands. His clothes were soaked with crimson.

"What are waiting for? Aren't you gonna kill me!" Sanji shouted with a coarse voice.

"Shhh," the man placed a finger up to his lips, "if I killed you here my prince would become very upset and I really hate upsetting my prince, but then again he is always upset with me."

"Prince?" Sanji's eyes landed on the katana in the other man's hands. The pieces started to click.

"Your that killer... your that serial killer that has been killing all those marines…" whispered the cook, but the cloaked figure ignored him. Instead he took his hand off the blonde's face and walked off towards a pool of blood. He dipped his fingers into it and then walked over to the nearest brick wall in the alley. He started to write down letters in blood till it spelt a single word.

"Nakama," Sanji read under his breath. What the hell was the suppose to mean?

Before Sanji could figure out, the figure already had came back to where the blonde sat and picked him up. The killer slung him over his shoulder and started running down the street. Sanji dared not move, even though all his instincts told him to get the hell away from this guy.

"What the hell are you doing, who the hell are you, and what the hell do you want from me?" Sanji shouted as the man sheathed his sword.

"Hush, hush, no need to be loud, I'm just following my prince's orders. No need to worry~! And who am I you ask? Well, the prince likes to call me a very special name."

"He calls me Asura."

 **A/N Hello, I've had this idea sort of stuck in my head for a while and decided to write some of it down. It has pretty bad grammar I know. I was editing this late at night and I'm just pooped, haha. Sorry for the characters being a little OOC too. Thank you for reading and have a good day/night please. =)**


	2. Sickness

_Burning buildings and bloody cries were taking up two of Sanji's senses. It was eerie and cold where he stood making him shiver violently. The moonlight was being covered in the night sky by thick gray clouds. Wrecked cars and trucks were placed up like barricades with blood splattered across both them and the broken asphalt underneath. He figured that he was on some type of road in New World City._

 _As Sanji studied the scene further, he noticed some corpses, of what seemed to be marine officer. They were farther up the road though. He took a step further, letting curiosity get the better of him. He started to approach a very slender dead body, that was sprawled across the street. The corpse seemed to be fresh as Sanji accidentally stepped into an ever growing pool of blood but the dead body._

 _The dead body was of a rookie marine officer who died of what seemed to be a very painful death. Multiple deep slash marks were etched into the chest of the rookie. The blonde figured he died of blood loss, which means his killer left him to die a very slow death. Sanji started to feel a little nauseous looking down at the graphic scene. He covered his mouth with his hand and bit his lip. He tried to look away, but he couldn't…_

 _Sanji started to crouch down and reach for the newbie's hat and slid it over his eyes. He then stood back up and looked forward. The blonde felt bile build up in his neck as he stared at the horrid scene._

 _There, about ten meters away from him, stood a mountain of dead corpses. All of the bodies were slashed up beyond recognition, and body parts littered the ground near it. His instincts were shouting at him to run, to get the hell out of there, but Sanji did not move. Fear and confusion weighed him down, crushing his chest, making him paralyzed. All the blonde could do was stare with widened eyes, and buckled knees._

 _Suddenly, the blonde felt a cold presence behind him. He quickly turned around and but turned too quickly. The blonde felt him slip and fall onto the black ground and stare up. There above him, was a dark shadowy figure. Sanji stood true to his word, the thing was completely black, just as if someone ripped a shadow off of a person and made them stand._

 _"A-are you lost?" Sanji whispered in a shaky voice. What the hell? Whats wrong with him?! Why would he ask such a question when he firstly needed to know where the hell he was! Damn, he was getting soft or something._

 _"I don't know." The dark figure's voice was disembodied, as if there were a bunch of people speaking at the same time, but one stood out and the others were more like whispers. Sanji suddenly stood up and reached his arm out with his hand wide open. The blonde was confused. He didn't want to do this, he wanted to get away, but he couldn't. It was as if something was controlling his own body!_

 _"I can show you the way," Sanji said in a soft voice. The figure just stared at him, or thats what Sanji felt like what he was doing. Damn thing had no eyes!_

 _A few seconds passed, and the figure started to raise his own arm. Sanji wanted to pull his arm away, but felt a need to leave it there. Something, in the back of his head, was telling him to stay here, with the shadow._

 _As the two were about to latch hands, the figure abruptly swatted the cook's hand away. He then took a step back and stared at his hands._

 _"I'm a monster," Sanji woke up._

* * *

"…anji, Oi, Sanji!" Sanji's eyes started to flutter open. His vision was a little blurry from waking up, but he could make out a face in front of him. It seemed, feminine… with very defined cheek-bones and long eye lashes. Plus that nice tan skin… His heart started to throb.

"Ohh, my princess, I seem to have fallen into an eternal sleep and can't wake up, only a true lover's kiss could wake me up~" Sanji started to purse his lips and inched forward to the very pretty face. Suddenly, his lips made contact with sweet smooth skin.

A few seconds during the kiss, Sanji finally fully woke up and got a crystal image of what he was kissing - a very long nose.

Sanji screamed and frantically crawled his way back until his body hit a white wall. There, Sanji gave Usopp a killer scowl. Usopp started to sweat horribly and gave the blonde a comedic grin to break the intense atmosphere.

"G-glad to h-help wake up-p-p-p Prince Ch-Charming…" The long nose kid was sweating a storm when he realized he failed to break the intense atmosphere. In fact, he made it worst.

"YOU BASTARD," Sanji drilled the long nosed brat into the ground, making a large crashing noise. Right afterwards though, the blonde's head started to ache pretty bad. Raising his hands to message his temples, the cook quickly noticed the bandages around his head. In fact, he was in different cloches then he remembered. He wore a baby blue, light sweatshirt and some sweat pants.

Being puzzled for a sec of why he was in bandages, Sanji remembered the incident he had, which led to him remembering Asura. The blonde felt himself get a little sick remembering all of the crimson that soaked the ground and the killer's sadistic laugh. Sanji was very confused on how we was even still alive…

Sanji would have started to think deeper, but his thoughts were interrupted when a little doctor walked in.

"Ahh, Usopp I heard a loud noise, did you drop som-" A short teenager with brown messy hair, carrying what seemed to be medical supplies quickly dropped his sentence when he found Sanji standing over Usopp, grinding his head into the ground.

"Ahh, Sanji, your awake!" The brunette's eyes lighted up.

"Oh, Chopper, I should have known it was you who tended to my injuries!" Sanji gave a little smile towards the short teen.

"I helped too ya know," Usopp weakly stated.

"Shut up!" Sanji grinded the long nosed teen's head harder.

Sanji knew Chopper and Usopp through Luffy. Hell, most of the Sanji's friends he met through Luffy.

Usopp, the one with the long nose, was about Luffy's age, 19. He completed High school with satisfactory grades.

Usopp was an amazing shot. While he was a pretty big coward, Usopp quickly made that up by winning the championship basketball game with a half court shot.

Tony Tony Chopper was probably the Einstein of medical science. A prodigy really. He was able to skip a couple of grades as well as gain a full scholarship at a college because of it. What is so surprising is that the short teen was only 17!

Sanji finds Chopper very cute though. Not, in a relationship type way. He just reminds him of a baby reindeer.

Usopp was now residing on a small bed right by Sanji's, with a broken nose. After Chopper bandaged his nose, he walked over towards Sanji's bed and started to do a physical on him.

During Chopper's checkup, Sanji asked a question.

"How long was I out?"

"About a day," replied the young doctor. Sanji just nodded in response, finding that a reasonable time to be out cold.

"Alright Sanji, I understand that you might be feeling a little headache right now, correct?" Asked the brunette.

"Correct, but its very small," Sanji made a little gesture with his hands about how small his headache was.

"Ahh thats good, I was expecting a stronger, more throbbing headache." Chopper continued to check all around Sanji's body for any other signs of damage.

"Wow, your healing rate always amazes me Sanji. When you came in your bruises looked terrible, but they look better now, probably won't go away for a while though," Chopper took off his stethoscope. "Alright Sanji, I think you may be able to leave now and go back home. As I always say, take it easy for a while till you completely heal. If your head starts to throb very badly, put an ice pack on it and call me."

"You are a very excellent doctor Chopper, thank you," Sanji said.

"Ahhh, shit, that doesn't make me happy you bastard," squealed a blushing Chopper who was grinning like a little kid on Christmas day.

Sanji realized that this might be a good time to ask some questions.

"Umm, Chopper, if you don't mind, may I ask a few questions?" asked the blonde.

"Ya sure, ask away," Chopper took out one of those chairs that roll around out from under a desk on the other side of the room and sat down.

"Why am I here?"

"I really don't know, someone brought you here while Usopp and I were playing some video games together. We got really worried and scared when we first saw you, like, you had so many bruises and cuts, and blood was all over you dress shirt. Usopp and I went to work on you right away. I'm just so glad you're OK!" There Chopper started to tear up a little, making Sanji feel bad for making the kid worry.

"Who was this someone?"

"They wouldn't give me their name, nor waited for you to recover. They left as soon as they got here." Chopper replied.

"Man that guy was scary… With that black hoodie all up and those leather gloves… and that katana… Now that I think about it, I thought I saw blood all over him or something, but he left so soon I couldn't know for sure." Usopp pipped in.

"So it was Asura…" muttered Sanji to himself.

"Huh, what did you say?" asked Chopper as he leaned in closer.

"Oh oh, …it was nothing. Again, Thanks Chopper!" Sanji quickly stood up and exited the door, waving good bye to his two good friends.

* * *

It probably wasn't very healthy, but Sanji couldn't stop thinking. He couldn't stop worrying that the killer was gonna come back and _finish the job…_ No, no, if he thought about that, he would become paranoid. He needed to keep a cool head.

Of course if Asura wanted him dead, he would have done it back on the alley way. The man was sadistic though, maybe he does want Sanji to become paranoid and insane, then kill him off. Its a possibility.

The blonde heaved a sigh and continued walking back to his apartment. As he walked among the bust sidewalk, he bumped into something, or more like someone.

"Oh, excu- Oh, its you," Sanji felt his patient instantly vanish at the sight of the man who he knocked over.

"Damn curly-brow, watch where you are going!" The man speaking was a very well built man who wore a white dress shirt with a black tie. His collar was up and his shirt hang loosely out over his black pants. But the most distinctive feature of the man was his messy green hair and the three gold earrings that hung on his left ear.

Roronoa Zoro stood back up and got into Sanji's face. It was then, that the blonde saw dark circles under the marimo's eyes, as if he wasn't getting enough sleep.

"Wow, you look like shit,"

"Hypocrite, you look like shit too." Sanji had to admit he did look like shit, walking around in a sweatshirt and sweatpants with bandages all over.

* * *

Roronoa Zoro was considered to be the rival of Sanji. The blonde didn't know what made them rivals, they just sort of started to hate each other in a friendly way? Well not _that_ friendly.

Unlike Chopper and Usopp, Sanji met Zoro on his own. They met actually in elementary, and that was where their hateful relationship began.

Zoro is the largest dumb shit Sanji has ever met, right next to Luffy. He was just so prideful and has probably the worst sense of direction in the whole entire galaxy.

The marimo was also a swordsman, a damn good one at that. He trains at a local dojo down the block, somewhere in this shitty city.

* * *

"So what has the damn marimo been doing lately, growing flowers on the top of your head?" Sanji mocked.

"Enjoying the peace and quiet until you showed your ugly face," Zoro said a little quietly. This sort of shocked Sanji, the marimo always said his comebacks very loud and strong. _Must be the weather_ , thought Sanji.

The blonde started to make a huge scowl, as his blood started to pump faster. Even though the Sanji will never admit it, he loved the fights he had with the neanderthal. Just one more horrible burn, just one more… but before Sanji could say anything mean, the marimo did something unexpected.

"I-I've gotta go," Zoro abruptly said as he stormed off.

Sanji had no idea what to say. That was freakishly abnormal. For half a second Sanji was tempted to shout "ARE YOU EVEN THE REAL MARIMO?!" But noticing the air around Zoro, it probably wasn't a good idea.

* * *

Sanji felt like it was a good idea just to forget what happened. People change, all the time. The marimo could just be having a bad day or something. Well, that is the only logical reason. Not to mention he seemed very tired and out of it. Like what if his grandma died or something? Even though Sanji disliked Zoro, he would never stoop down so low to making fun of a man who just went through something tragic.

 _Something tragic…_

Sanji couldn't help but recite those words. Indeed the marimo look like shit, just completely zoned out. That the moss head wasn't even making eye contact with him while they were talking.

 _Maybe it has something to do with the killer_ _…_ Its farfetched indeed, but a lot of killings had been happening recently, maybe one of the marimo's relatives was butchered up. Well damn, it was possible. Sanji did know that some of the marimo's relatives were marines, just not sure who.

But Sanji knew Zoro, nothing like that brings him down for so long. He'll be up and at them in no time, no time at all.

Sanji started to whistle an old sailor song his dad taught him. He took out his house key then opened his apartment door. What he saw next surprised him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANJI!"

* * *

He was pretty dull after all. How could he forget today was his birthday!?

Sanji was relaxing on his couch with all his best friends around him, even the moss head was here. He still seemed out of it, but at least he looked a little happier. It also explains on why he abruptly left Sanji on the street.

It was amazing though, everyone of his best friend were here, despite their busy scheduling.

Luffy, Marimo, Nami, Robin, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Brook.

Little flashback time. While Luffy was in tenth grade, he formed a little gang that helps people in need, which included himself and everyone listed above as well as Sanji. It was really weird though, how a sixteen year old could organize a whole entire group that consisted of a little 13 year old to a 51 year old. But Luffy was the definition of weird. He made friends with literally everyone. He could become friends with a rock for crying out loud.

The gangs name was _The Strawhats_ by the way.

This gang was named after Luffy's prized possession, his foster father's special hat. It was so special to Luffy because it was the only thing he had left of Shanks. The poor forty year old got into an accident and went into a coma. There was good news though, the doctors say that they are seeing signs that the red head might wake up soon, making Luffy smile even more brightly then before.

For now though, Luffy was in the care of his grandfather, a very old marine with a short temper.

* * *

After a little while of chatting, it was time to open gifts. First was Nami-swan's gift. Sanji happily accepted it, knowing it would make his lovely Nami happy. Inside the gift was a new black and yellow stripped tie with a very elegant looking black suit. Sanji quickly thanked his love with all of his heart.

"You know I got that suit ninety percent off!" Bragged Nami.

"You blackmailed the seller didn't you," whispered Usopp.

Next was Chopper's gift. His gift was wrapped in reindeer wrapping paper, which was pretty cute to Sanji. He opened it up to find a book called _Cross._ Sanji was excited to start reading it, knowing it was another murder mystery story.

Then Franky's gift showed up. Sanji opened the gift, knowing it was going to be something crazy, since all of Franky's inventions were pretty wacky. Inside he found a tie, well it looked like a tie…

Franky demonstrated how there was a button on the back of the tie in which activated this mechanic hand thing. The hand's purpose was to hold coffee or tea mugs/cups in the morning and bring it up to his face when he needed a drink. Sanji said thank you and moved on.

Next was the stupid marimo's gift, wrapped terribly in plain wrapping paper. Sanji quickly ripped it open to find a small box that held a very expensive kitchen knife. Three in fact… Sanji said "Thank you moss head," with a very sarcastic tone. This made the marimo feel pretty ticked off.

Robin, just like Chopper, bought a murder mystery book a little thicker than the one Chopper gave him. Aparantly, Chopper and her went shopping together in a book store near her house.

Sanji happily skidded over towards the gorgeous woman and gave her a kiss on the hand, then politely said thank you.

Luffy's gift made Sanji laugh inside. Guess what the boy got him? A new glass mixing bowl that looked exactly like the one he broke a couple of days ago. He also got money for the repairs of the large hole in the wall. Sanji snickered a "thank you" out as he tried to hold back his laugh.

Brook and Usopp bought Sanji some board games. Sanji said his final thank you, then cleaned the wrapping paper that littered the floor.

* * *

Robin, Brook, and Franky all left before cake. It was getting very late for them and they all had work tomorrow, so they waved their goodbyes and wished Sanji a final happy birthday before leaving.

As for the ones that stayed, a giant, chocolate cake with chocolate chips inside, topped with vanilla iced frosting was being served. Right when the cake was taken out, Luffy tried to make a grab for it, but was stopped by Nami with a fist to the face.

"Luffy, the first bite that will be taken from this cake will be from Sanji! Understand!?" Shouted the young red head.

"I understand…" muttered a depress Luffy. Sanji chuckled at the whole scene and took a glance at Zoro.

Tha marimo looked like shit, still, as if he was running a high fever. His eyes were very hazy and he seemed to stare into space while he leaned against Sanji's wall. He was breathing deep and sweating, even though the AC was on inside Sanji's apartment. Maybe after the party he should get the stubborn man to go see Chopper.

 _Must have the Flu or something..._

"Co'mon Sanji, cut the cake already, I'm hungry!" Whimpered Luffy.

Sanji nodded his head, then took out his new kitchen knife the marimo had got him, and started to cut the cake into pieces. After the second piece was cut, he went to the third, where the knife accidentally slipped and made a huge cut on Sanji's ring finger.

"Ah, shit," Cursed the blonde. Little blood droplets started to ooze out of Sanji's cut finger. Instantly, as if on instinct, Chopper walked over to Sanji, and gave him a band-aid. Sanji muttered a quick thanks, then turned towards the marimo.

Zoro was staring at Sanji's finger with wide eyes, watching the blood drop off. The man's face was blushing as he stared at the crimson. Sanji instantly felt cold.

"Oi, Marimo, you OK?" Asked a somewhat worried cook. As if on cue, Zoro shouted, in what seemed to be pain and clutched his head. Right as he started to scream, he passed out onto the floor. Sanji quickly shot out of his chair, as well as the rest of the crew, over towards the swordsman.

Sanji flipped the man over to notice his eyes still wide open. He quickly noticed that Zoro looked afraid.

"OI MARIMO SPEAK TO ME!" Commanded the blonde, but nothing happened.

"Sanji don't yell, let me take a look," Chopper said. Sanji and everyone else moved aside to let Chopper inspect him.

The small teen quickly took out a small flashlight and waved it in front of the marimo's blue eyes. They didn't respond to the light being shined into them. Chopper muttered a curse and quickly laid his ear against the marimo's heaving chest. There, Chopper closed his eyes and started to mouth numbers, as if he was counting.

After a minute or so Chopper popped his head up from off the chest.

"His heart is accelerated, I'm counting about a 125 beats per a minute, also his breath has quickened. He seems to be in a trance of some sort." Stated the doctor.

"L-Like a coma?" Blurted a very worried Luffy, who stared at his friend with deep pain in his eyes.

Chopper frowned, then shook his head. He started to tear up.

"I-I really don't know…"

* * *

 **Alright disclaimer, I'm no doctor, and I'm too lazy to do research on how doctors handle things! Anyways sorry for the late update. I was on vacation for like two weeks haha.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews, favs, and follows. It really surprises me how much you guys like my story, like seriously, I have horrible transitions and grammar. :P**

 **And thank you again for reading!**

 **P.S. I'm gonna try to make a pretty badass cover for the story so stay in tune for that lol.**


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